BYU Upsets No. 8 Penn State in Five-Game Thriller

Sam Araki | BYU Athletic Communications | Posted Sep 14, 2003

Kim Wilson put down 22 kills with 11 digs and six blocks in a win over No. 8 Penn State on Saturday night, as the Cougars won the BYU Mizuno Classic. Wilson was named tournament MVP, posting 56 kills and 32 digs in three matches. (Photo by Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)

Wilson Named MVP; Bowers and Richards All-Tournament

PROVO -- The BYU women's volleyball team started the season slowly, but has caught fire as it defeated No. 8 Penn State 3-2 (21-30, 30-27, 30-23, 26-30, 15-13) to sweep and clinch the BYU Mizuno Classic (3-0) on Saturday night.

"It's a huge win for us," BYU coach Karen Lamb said. "The girls really deserve the success they're having after all the hard work they've put in."

BYU (7-3) was led by tournament Most Valuable Player Kim Wilson who had 22 kills against the Nittany Lions (8-1).

"It was an accomplishment by our team," Wilson said. "We showed we can play with good teams and win. I think it's a sign of what's to come."

In the early going of game one, the Cougars jumped out to an early five-point lead at 10-5 after a Wilson kill. Behind a combination of Cougar errors and timely kills from Erin Iceman and Ashley Pederson, Penn State went on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 12-12. The Nittany Lions would take the lead 14-13 on a ball handling error by Lauren Richards and wouldn't look back, as they cruised with a 16-8 run to end the game.

The second game was back and forth, featuring nine lead changes and 18 ties. BYU hit a critical juncture when Penn State All-American Cara Smith put down a kill for a 27-25 Nittany Lion lead. The Cougars followed that with back-to-back kills from April Varner and Richards, forcing a 27-27 tie and a Penn State timeout. From there, Wilson would team with Laura Nielsen to stuff Smith on consecutive plays to force game point and another Nittany Lion turnover. Out of the timeout, Penn State would fail in its attempt to go to Smith for a third consecutive time, as she committed a hitting error.

BYU continued its momentum into the third game with a 4-0 run to take the lead 4-1. Penn State regained the advantage and led by as much as six at 14-8, as the Cougars had difficulty curing its error-making ways. From there the Cougar block took over. BYU out-blocked Penn State 8-3 in the game and the Cougars scored 22 of the game's last 31 points by controlling the play at the net.

The Nittany Lions slowly pulled away from the Cougars in the fourth game, as they slowly regained the momentum. Smith had six kills as the Penn State lead bulged to nine and forced game-point at 29-20. The Cougars regained the momentum by staging a 6-0 run, which featured kills by Carrie Bowers and Wilson sandwiched by four Nittany Lion attack errors.

In the deciding game, two kills from Nielsen and one from Varner gave BYU an early 3-0 lead, and the Cougars wouldn't look back. BYU dominated play in the early going as it staked itself to a 12-5 lead. Penn State would stage an 8-3 run to end the game, but BYU's third point ended up being a kill by Varner to seal the match.

Carrie Bowers and Lauren Richards were also named to the all-tournament team. Richards had a career-high six blocks against Penn State, as the Cougar defense stepped up to stifle the Nittany Lion attack.

"We proved we're a very good team," Lamb said. "There were key plays made by everybody. We made key digs and key blocks at the end of games, when we needed them the most. It came down to who wanted to win it and we just wanted to win more. We showed tremendous resolve tonight."

Smith led Penn State with 22 kills and Sam Tortorello led the Nittany Lions with 56 assists.

BYU claimed the tournament title, followed by Penn State and Ohio State at 1-1 and Rice at 0-3.

2003 Mizuno Classic All-Tournament Team

MVP - Kim Wilson, BYU (So., OH)

Carrie Bowers, BYU (Sr., RS)

Lauren Richards, BYU (So., S)

Cara Smith, Penn State (Sr., MH)

Sam Tortorello, Penn State (So., S)

Stacey Gordon, Ohio State (Jr., OH)

Rebeca Pazo, Rice (Jr., OH)

Ohio State Dumps Rice in Five

PROVO, Utah -- (Sept. 13, 2003) In a close five-game match, Ohio State slid by Rice Saturday at the BYU Mizuno Classic.

Ohio State came out strong in the first game, leading 18-12 after a kill by junior outside hitter Stacey Gordon. Rice put up tough blocks by Orem native Julie Jackman and junior Rebeca Pazo, but it was not enough for the Owls.

The Buckeyes' offense was too much for Rice as they finished off the first game at 30-21, led by Gordon and freshman setter Briana McCarthy.

The next four games included much more intensity as Rice stayed close behind. The Owls pulled ahead, 17-13, after a kill by junior outside hitter Lindsey Carter. Ohio State was unable to regain the lead as Carter led Rice to a 30-27 finish for the second game.

Rice used their momentum to jump ahead and win the third game, 30-21, led by Pazo and Carter's attack. The fourth game, much like the second, was close at 22-21 with Ohio State holding the lead. Senior D'wan Shackleford and McCarthy put together a series of blocks to hold off the Owls at 30-27.

Game Five opened with Rice taking the lead 5-0 off another kill by Carter. But the Buckeyes' didn't let that bother them as sophomore Amanda Miller helped tie the game at nine. Ohio State finished the match, 15-12, with key plays by Miller and Gordon.

Rebeca Pazo of Rice finished with 19 kills and 13 digs and was named to the Mizuno Classic All-Tournament Team. Carter finished the five-game stretch with 25 kills and nine digs.

For Ohio State, Gordon led with an incredible performance of 32 kills and 14 digs and was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Miller finished with 15 kills and McCarthy led in assists with 66.